About this activity
Eight short /f/ words: fan, fig, fox, fog, fat, fin, fun, fish. Every one is a single syllable with a simple structure, which is deliberate — /f/ is one of the earlier sounds to develop and a child working on it is usually young, so the words are short enough to be produced without the rest of the word getting in the way.
How to use it in a session
Show the lip and tooth contact rather than describing it. /f/ is one of the few sounds a child can see being made, and a mirror does more here than any verbal cue. Ask for the word, then for a two-word phrase — big fish, my fan — and stop there for a young child. Five minutes is a full pass, which makes this a good short activity inside a longer session.
What to listen for
Listen for /p/ or /b/ replacing it. A child saying pan for fan is producing a stop where a fricative should be, which means the lips are closing completely rather than letting air through — and that is a visible thing you can show them in a mirror. Watch fish and fin, where the following vowel is high and the lip position is harder to hold.
Carrying it home
Fish, fan, fun and fox are common enough words that a family can listen for one of them without arranging anything. Asking for the word rather than correcting the sound keeps it from becoming a correction routine at home.
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Kindergarten through third grade. /f/ develops relatively early, so it is usually a target for younger children.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all eight cards play with no login.
- My child says 'pan' for 'fan'. What do I do?
- Use a mirror. /f/ is made with the top teeth on the bottom lip and air flowing through, and a child producing /p/ is closing the lips instead. Seeing the difference usually works faster than hearing it.